Welcome back to the “History Behind the Number”.
This is the weekly segment where I pick the best three to four players that have worn a certain kit number for Arsenal and I aim to bring in a guest for each section to give their favourite or one to watch for the future who wears that number.
This week I will be looking at the number 5 which has been worn by many prestigious players for the Gunners. I have brought in a special guest in Evan or more commonly known as afcevan who writes for The Arsenal Review as well as having a large social media following. If you would like to view some of his pieces or follow him if you’re not doing so already, his Twitter account is @afcevan.
As I will say in every section I do, I’d like to make this segment where the players that have worn the numbers are known to the younger audience as well so players such as Liam Brady or David O’Leary who are iconic players for Arsenal have been excluded for those reasons. Players during the 90s era have been included though as they are also a vital part of Arsenal’s history.
Thomas Vermaelen- 2009/10-2013/14
*Dates are of the time the player has worn the kit number, not been at the club.
The Belgian centre half is undoubtedly one of the best players to wear number 5 for Arsenal as well as having the captaincy under his reign for multiple seasons. Arsene Wenger signed Vermaelen from Ajax in 2009 for around £12 million. He went on to make 110 appearances for the Gunners and had 13 goals to his tally in all competitions. His dominant figure and assertiveness were key to his playstyle, which kept him as a starting CB before he left for Barcelona for 5 years.
In Vermaelen’s debut season for Arsenal, he was nominated for the PFA Team of the Season after a successful season which saw Thomas find the net a lot of times during the campaign.
However, around four years into his Arsenal career, his performances seemed to drop and he was replaced by Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, who formed a solid partnership together.
He was tried to be used in a 5-back formation but it only seemed to get worse so when Barcelona came calling, it seemed like unfortunately, it was a dream come true. His performances on the pitch in red and white were consistent for the utmost of his career, and that is why the current Vissel Kobe man is arguably in the top 3 of number 5s to play for Arsenal.
Kolo Toure- 2006/07-2008/09
The disappointing thing is that when you think of the Toure brothers you only really think of Yaya and his incredible career in Manchester. His brother Kolo played as a full back and was superb as well, having signed for Arsenal in 2002 and part of the Invincibles before seeing the ‘downfall’ before departing for Liverpool and then Manchester City at the end of his career.
Kolo played 225 games for the club in seven seasons in North London. Toure joined after an infamous trial with the club where he sent manager Arsene Wenger to the physio beds with a crunching slide tackle, for a reported fee of around £150,000.
He put in consistent performances, which is something we don’t see much of today and was one of the key players despite the suggested fall that we as Arsenal fans have experienced since the Champions League Final loss in Barcelona so long ago.
Thomas Partey- 2021- PRESENT
I promise I’ll stop giving current players but there are just not that good enough options, and looking ahead for the future is the only option. Thomas Partey signed for Arsenal after they activated his release clause of £55m only minutes before the transfer deadline with Atletico Madrid.
Although he has struggled in his first season with the club due to injury and will miss the start of the season with a knee injury sustained during the preseason, he looks set to be one of the starting midfielders for the foreseeable future with whatever partner that accompanies him, whether it be Xhaka, new signing Lokonga, target Houssem Aouar or the random names that Arsenal is linked with day by day.
We haven’t seen much of him yet, and his shooting looks to be a con, but with a stable partner in the midfield, and taking the new number 5 shirt this season. Partey is assuredly a one to watch.
GUEST’S PICK:
For the fourth and final player to wear the number five jersey, I have spoken to AFCEvan, who has selected his favourite player to wear number five.
Although the player has worn multiple numbers for Arsenal and has a predominant history in all of them, he is still considered iconic in his displays in whatever number he was given for the club.
Martin Keown – 2006/07- 2010/11
A 3-time Premier League winner with Arsenal, a 400 appearance maker for the club and undoubtedly an Arsenal legend.
The most potent image that always will come to mind when thinking about Martin Keown will always be the scenes following Ruud van Nistelrooy’s penalty miss in 2003.
The wild celebration, the jump onto RvN that sparked so much carnage.
He was a defender with so much passion and heart for the club and someone who aligned with everything Arsenal stands for.
And that’s a wrap for number five!
Thanks for reading this part of the “History Behind the Number”, where every week I review four players that have worn that number for Arsenal.
If you enjoyed it, make sure to let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @AaronJaffe11, and if you would like to jump on the show and give your say on a certain squad number do let me know and I can get you involved.